Dear all,

As I sit here on Christmas Eve I am thankful first, for the birth of Jesus Christ. I listened to the Lessons and Carols from Cambridge, England this morning and thought about the sacrifice Christ made for me. I am humbled.

I am also spending time contemplating our mission trip beginning this coming Tuesday, Dec 28th. Five of us are going again to Muko to work ibega hibega (shoulder to shoulder) with our Ugandan partners to add orphans to our Muko H.O.P.E. (Helping Orphans Prosper and Endure) program, build upon our M.E.P. (Muko Empowerment Program) with villagers creating handcrafts for sale to earn a good wage and support the programs of ACT and work alongside Tito, our Mobilization and Agriculture Officer in the garden beds. In addition, we will be continuing our work to acquire land and purchase our current office building and plan expansion of it. So, as usual, we have lots to do in a short time. We would appreciate your daily prayers for our safety, health and energy.

Our team consists of myself (Sue Waechter, ACT-Michigan Board Chair); Dale Anderson, a member of Blessed Sacrament, quilter and Master Gardener; Ashley Bair (Karen and Dave Viele's daughter) who is a senior at Michigan State University in Social Work; Bill McHenry and Holly Oemke, students at Alma College and leaders of the S.I.F.E. (Students in Free Enterprise) program. The photo of the team is Bill, Ashley, Dale and Sue (Holly is was not there for the picture).

Electricity willing, we will do our best to add pictures and at least words to this blog daily so you can learn all we are doing in the village and in Kampala. For those of you who are nearby Midland, remember to mark your calendars for our potluck and presentation from the team on Saturday, Jan 15th! We'll have many stories to tell and news to update. We will also be making a presentation at Holt Presbyterian (date to be determined).

I wish you each a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless you and your family!

Sue Waechter